Dean Smith sees several similarities between his Brentford side and Saturday's opponents Fulham.

The Bees and the Whites are two of the best footballing sides in the division and, on their day, have outclassed some of the leading teams in the Championship.

The pair meet at Craven Cottage on Saturday and a win for Slavisa Jokanovic's side will secure a top six spot, by virtue of their vastly superior goal difference over Leeds, with a game to spare.

Smith knows Fulham have plenty of quality among their ranks but he also knows Brentford are a side that have similar players.

Dean Smith (Image: Get West London)

He said: “In every game we analyse the opposition but a large part of what we do in the week is about what we can do, not the opposition as we're confident in what we do with the players we've got and their abilities.

“We invest confidence and trust into them to play the way we can. You've got to be aware of their qualities.

“(Floyd) Ayite, (Sone) Aluko and (Ryan) Sessegnon were very bright at Huddersfield and rotated.

“It's the same with (Tom) Cairney, (Stefan) Johansen and (Kevin) McDonald in midfield. They're very fluid as a team and I think they're similar to ourselves in how they play.”

Star man: Tom Cairney (Image: Paul Burgman/Press-Photos.com)

Both sides score and concede goals in equal measure and the pair are two of the most entertaining teams to watch in the second tier.

Smith added: “I saw a stat that Fulham have been involved in the second most goals and we were the third.

“As you say they've had a really good season. Martin is out which is a loss for them. We weren't at our best against QPR and they probably weren't at Huddersfield. It makes for a very good game.”

Fulham have wonderkid Ryan Sessegnon at left back, while the Bees also have highly rated Rico Henry in that spot and Smith believes the pair are both special talents.

He explained: “I saw Rico Henry at Walsall at 16-years-old. They're very similar in terms of attitude and maturity. I think they're special cases that don't come along very often.”